Remotely accessible network devices, particularly wireless devices, provide user friendly and highly affordable convenience to consumers and businesses. Popular wireless devices include wireless-enabled computers, Internet access and personal data assistants, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, automobile, personal and boat navigation systems, pagers and text messaging devices, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, devices that permit users to access e-mail, and cellular telephones. Conventionally, each of these devices provides remote access into and interaction with networked and interconnected resources, whether for voice, data or other forms of digital and electronic information exchange.
Frequently, private data network access is provided as part of a computing infrastructure within a home or business between employees, customers and other permitted users, such as provided by IEEE 802.11-compliant Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and IEEE 802.16-compliant “WiMAX” networks. However, within the public domain, data and non-data network access is generally provided under a service contract offered by a network service provider. For example, under a typical cellular telephone service arrangement, a subscriber pays a cellular service provider for air time, which is typically offered either at a flat rate with a fixed number of service hours per month or at a per use rate based on actual service utilization. At a minimum, the subscriber receives voice service within a local calling area and can optionally add long distance, international, or digital data calling or a variety of other features.
Such networked communication and computing devices often experience significant periods of non-use or idle time. These devices include the networked communication and computing devices, and other types of sensors and input devices, computing devices, data processing devices, and output devices that are either located remotely or arranged in distributed fashion. Historically, each new generation of network device has offered increasingly powerful, flexible and expandable capabilities. For example, third generation, so-called “3G,” cellular telephones offer variable bandwidth capacity and a programming interface. Despite these advances, existing service network access arrangements nevertheless contemplate service provision being offered to subscribers primarily during periods of service consumption. During periods of inactivity, the capabilities of the device often remain available, but are wasted through non-use.
Conventional approaches to performing ancillary functions on devices, such as harnessing excess transmission or processing capacity or propagating a signal, are costly, despite the potential benefits that could be gained by harnessing the excess capacity of existing service networks. Replicating a network with equivalent capabilities as, for instance, the cellular telephone subscriber base in a typical metropolitan region, would require a significant investment in capital, including hardware, physical plant and personnel, plus the on-going costs of maintenance, power and regulatory compliance. The cost-benefit ratio would be particularly unfavorable for networking arrangements requiring “point” readings on an infrequent basis, such as temperature and barometric readings as used in weather reports or other environmental sensing systems.
To exacerbate the problem, private subscribers currently lack an incentive, particularly a financial incentive, to provide remote services, through the excess capacity of their communication and computing devices, to service providers and third parties. Network service arrangements compensate the service providers for the use of or access to, or for a guarantee of availability of, the service network. Additional functionality could be added to privately owned or leased devices, but the cost-benefit ratio would be similarly unfavorable, especially with low-cost devices, such as cellular telephones. Moreover, third parties lack a vehicle to tap into service network subscriber bases as potentially ancillary service providers, such as providing “point” readings through servers installed on user private communication or computing devices.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach to providing a compensation framework to provide an incentive to private end users and network access subscribers to offer the excess functionality of privately-owned or leased devices to the network service providers and third parties. Preferably, such an approach would advantageously harness device idle time, as well as tap functionality provided through add-on components and in content generated by such devices. Such an approach would further accommodate third party indirect beneficiary arrangements transacted through the network service providers.